Plant to be cleaned up by 2017

House and Senate approve energy bill touted by Salem representative

Salem Harbor Station will be dismantled and the entire 60-acre site will be cleaned up by 2017, the state Legislature vowed yesterday in passing an energy bill championed by Salem Rep. John Keenan.

The legislation, embedded in a much larger renewable-energy bill, calls for the formation of a state task force to look into options for “the full financing” of deconstruction and cleanup of the plant. It will also explore how to maintain the jobs and tax revenue lost with the closing of the plant and will work to ensure “the responsible parties are held liable for costs of environmental remediation,” the bill reads.